


Legal Proclamation

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Community: mcsheplets, M/M, Role Reversal, Romance, Trope Bingo Round 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-23
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-24 10:42:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Too much wine can be a hazard in Pegasus, even on a safe world!<br/>Companion piece to my artwork</p>
            </blockquote>





	Legal Proclamation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [ART - An Accidental Marriage - Pegasus Style](https://archiveofourown.org/works/925156) by [Tarlan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan). 



> Written for:   
> **mcsheplets** Prompt: #156 Date  
>  **ancientctybingo** Prompt: Captive Blues  
>  **trope_bingo** prompt: role reversal

Rodney sat on the balcony, staring out over the blue ocean as he tried to make sense of what had happened on their last off-world trip. With shaking hands he unrolled the parchment and read the words again:

_On this day in the third winter of the reign of Queen Harmony, beloved of the Ancients..._

He had barely recognized her when they walked into her court, having not seen her since the day of her coronation three years earlier. She was taller, and dressed in finery that would make the wardrobe department of a Medieval drama production weep. The gold brocade and silk of her gown was exquisite, embroidered with tiny golden lights reminiscent of the mini-drones - not that Rodney tended to notice such things normally but John had pointed it out.

He paused on that thought.

John had always seemed to notice details like that, and perhaps that should have been a giveaway to where his true preferences lay. The artfully messy hair, the sparkling curtains in his quarters, the more recent acquisitions while on Earth that included sheets with a high cotton thread count - Egyptian cotton at that - and a far too tasteful bedspread over what was obviously a far better bed than the one he'd suffered in for years. Rodney thought it was just John's rich upbringing compared to Rodney's family but how many straight men could boast skin-tight leather pants, several pairs of jeans and more clothes and hair products than the average man carried in their wardrobes and bathrooms.

In hindsight it was easy to see that John could be gay - or bisexual at least - but Rodney had never suspected himself of being bisexual too.

He took in the towers and spirals of Atlantis that stretched out below his balcony. Atlantis was beautiful. Ethereal. Made of crystal and a unique metal that shone in blues and aquamarines, created in a style that was both functional, abstract yet mathematically glorious. His thoughts turned to Queen Harmony's palace of stone turrets and high walls, like a fairy castle from a bygone age. Her banner of blue and gold flew from every turret, caught in the gentle breeze, and from the battlements, Rodney could see clear across the heavily wooded vale.

_Mistress of the Forest of Argansi and the Golden Light of Larris..._

In honor of their visit, her throne room had been decorated in small trees and shrubs taken from the forest, adding a vibrant green to the blues and gold of the tapestries adorning the gray stone walls. It reminded him of the small dell where they had found the Ancient console that controlled the lights of Larris using the Ancient key that could only be used by someone who had the ATA gene. He smiled wryly as he recalled the events following that trek through the forest. By rights John should have been crowned as Queen that day when he activated the mini-drones by snatching the necklace key from Harmony in the middle of a fire fight with the Genii.

Rodney sniggered. Queen John of Atlantis, Master of the Golden Light of Larris.

Harmony had been more than a little upset at being usurped by John that day, even if he had denied wanting to rule in her stead.

_Bears witness to the enjoinment of The Queen's Protector, Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay, to his manservant, Colonel John Patrick Sheppard..._

After three years she still hadn't quite forgiven John, and that painting still took pride of place in the throne room depicting their roles reversed - with Rodney manfully protecting the young Queen while John cowered behind her, instead of vice versa. Rodney had secretly snapped a photo of that painting years ago, using it to torment John occasionally.

Enjoinment.

Marriage.

At least that was what Rodney thought it meant but he really couldn't be certain. He was still unsure how it had happened. One moment he was in the throne room enjoying the feast laid on by Queen Harmony, and the next he was standing beside John in front of the throne as someone bound a golden cord around their joined hands and Harmony made some proclamation about enjoinment. His head had been spinning from his third cup of the strong Argansi wine, forced upon him by the sheer number of toasts dedicated to the Queen by her subjects.

He could recall the soft pleasure in John's hazel-green eyes, holding his own blue eyes captive. If he closed his eyes he could see the curve of John's lips smiling happily, and feel the light pressure of a kiss that took his breath away with its quiet innocence yet obvious affection. Rodney could still taste the heady wine on John's lips, mingled with the sweetness of the honey cakes and an underlying tang that was pure John. he recalled the pleasure that had rippled through him, and the almost desperate desire to kiss again, and again. Harder, deeper, wanting to possess those smiling lips and claim them for his own form that day forward.

Perhaps if they had been attending the festivities alone then they could have laughed it off once back on Atlantis but Woolsey had insisted on them taking some of the anthropologists along. There was video, and Radek had got his grubby hands on a copy, gleefully posting it up on the Atlantis message board for all to see. Somehow it might also have made it into the weekly message burst to Earth just hours earlier, although Radek refused to confirm or deny it - the weasel!

Woolsey had not been impressed. Apparently, accidental marriages were not unheard of where an off-world team fell foul of some local custom through ignorance or coercion. Woolsey had wanted to treat this the same way, but as Rodney finished his letter to his sister, asking her to keep the parchment scroll that might be a marriage certificate safe for him, he couldn't resist adding a small footnote: _I think I might love him._

What he meant was, _I think I might be IN love with Colonel John Patrick Sheppard._

He had a feeling his sister would easily read between the lines even without that postscript.

With a sigh, Rodney folded the letter and placed it into a sturdy box with the scroll, ready to hand over to the _Daedalus_ for transport back to Earth but his door chimed before he could seal the box.

"Enter."

Rodney stepped forward when he saw John loitering on the threshold, confused because John hadn't bothered to stand on ceremony and request entry to his quarters for almost two years now, not since the whole parasite in the brain incident. John looked nervous, which in turn made Rodney feel nervous because John was never nervous unless there was a really, really big and worrisome problem. Feeling alarmed, Rodney moved towards him only to see John tense before stepping forward to allow the door to close behind him, giving them privacy.

"John?"

"About earlier today."

Rodney laughed awkwardly and waved a hand as if nothing had happened between them. After all it was just a silly ceremony and one drunken kiss. The annoying thing about Argansi wine was that it got you drunk quickly but the effects wore off after just a few hours without the killer hangover common to most other forms of alcohol. Something to do with the berries according to the Botanists and Chemists. Three hours ago he had been so drunk and happy and carefree that marrying John and kissing him to 'seal the scroll' had seemed the most amazing yet natural thing in two galaxies. Even sober, it was still the most amazing moment of his life.

Just a shame it wasn't real, he thought.

"But I want it to be real," John stated softly, and Rodney froze in shock because he hadn't meant to speak those words out loud. He remained frozen in place as John approached him, shocked by the powerful surge of pleasure that raced through him the moment their lips touched. This second kiss was far better than that first clumsy, drunken kiss in Queen Harmony's palace if only because this time it was real, freely given without coercion from Harmony's court and without inebriation. Before John could pull back, Rodney reached out and caught at him, one hand latching onto a shoulder while the fingers of the other pushed through surprisingly soft spikes of dark hair until he was cupping the back of John's head and angling them both to kiss again, deeper and harder - and John complied eagerly.

What happened next was a haze of disjointed memories: hands fumbling with zippers and buttons, fingers digging into flesh before wrapping around the hardening length of each other. Moans and gasps of pleasure were muffled by deeply possessive kisses, mouths sliding apart only when his climax swept over him, his hand stuttering for only a moment before working harder on John, drawing him over the edge too.

They lay in silence for a long time afterwards, with just the gentle caress of fingers to prove that John was still awake, and though it ought to have felt awkward, Rodney felt relaxed for the first time in months - perhaps years. He chanced a glance across and relaxed even more when he saw the goofy smile adorning John's face.

A quick clean-up with the promise of a shower later was enough for both of them, and Rodney hummed happily as he finally allowed himself to sleep.

***

Since her reconciliation with Rodney, Jeanie had received a number of small boxes containing small trinkets but the contents of this latest box confused her. She stared at the photograph and smirked. The scroll with its imperious proclamation added to the fun, and she shook her head in amusement at the silly prank as she opened the accompanying letter.

Having known Rodney all of her life, reading between the lines came easily. The additional note scrawled in pen in an unfamiliar handwriting made her smile, knowing this wasn't a prank after all.

Rodney had ended his note with a postscript: _I think I might love him._

John had added: _Think I might love him too._

Proud of her woman's intuition, she knew there was no ' _think_ ' about it. She knew Rodney had finally found someone who loved him back just as deeply, and whether or not this scroll was a legally binding certificate of marriage in this galaxy, she was happy for both of them.

END


End file.
